All Electronic Equities Trading Market Launched by Boston Stock Exchange and Partners; BSE, Citigroup, CSFB, Fidelity & Lehman Brothers, Form Boston Equities Exchange (BeX).

BOSTON -- The Boston Stock Exchange (BSE) and equity partners Citigroup, CSFB, Fidelity Brokerage Company and Lehman Brothers announced today the formation of a new joint venture that will launch an electronic stock exchange, the Boston Equities Exchange (BeX).

These four major global securities firms have partnered with the BSE to create the BSX Group LLC that will own and operate the BeX Market. For the BSE, the announcement completes the latest phase of a multi-year plan to diversify the BSE business. In February 2004, the BSE was part of a consortium that successfully launched the Boston Options Exchange (BOX). For its partners, BeX represents the next generation of stock trading within the National Market System (NMS), which was recently modified with the Securities and Exchange Commission's passage of Regulation NMS.

"This partnership brings together a unique combination of industry expertise and sophisticated technology that will provide our clients with automated tools and a cost structure that will enable us to meet the needs of retail and institutional investors, while managing financial and regulatory risk. We believe that BeX will build on the heritage of the BSE as a client-focused exchange that works with our customers to deliver value to their clients" said Mike Curran, Chairman and CEO of the Boston Stock Exchange, one of BeX's founding partner organizations.

"The creation of the BeX will provide greater choice and competition among markets, which is vital to keeping trading costs low and ensuring quality executions. This is in the best interests of our clients," said Mark Haggerty, Executive Vice President, Fidelity Brokerage Company.

"BeX will provide a valuable set of execution options for our clients and for the overall marketplace. This partnership underscores Lehman Brothers' commitment to our clients to provide a breadth of innovative and efficient execution solutions," said Bart McDade, Global Head of Equities, Lehman Brothers.

BeX will use a unique suite of technology from Atos Euronext Market Solutions and Lava Trading to meet the mandates of today's marketplace for low cost, speed and customizable solutions that can be adapted to work alone or in conjunction with client systems.

"Atos Euronext Market Solutions is eager to work with BeX and extend our relationship with the BSE. Our commitment to our customers is providing high capacity, high performance trading platforms at the lowest possible price point. Our success supporting BOX demonstrates our ability to deliver on this commitment with this new partnership," said Jean-Marc Bouhelier, CEO Atos Euronext Market Solutions.

"As the landscape changes in the US equities marketplace, we are pleased to be partnering with the BeX while providing state-of-the-art trading solutions designed for a post Reg NMS world," said Richard Korhammer, CEO, Lava Trading Inc., a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc. "Our focus is on leading edge technology and bringing that technological innovation to all of our customers, including our new partner, the BeX."

"Our commitment to provide our clients with the most advanced trading venues available is reflected in our agreement with the Exchange," said Tony Ehinger, co-Head of Equities at CSFB. "This partnership is poised to capitalize on the collective industry expertise of its members, its forward thinking business plan and superior technology. Together, they should position the BeX to succeed in a changing marketplace."

"Citigroup's strategic investment in the Boston Stock Exchange underscores the growing significance of electronic markets in the trading arena and complements our commitment to provide quality execution and fast, efficient solutions for our clients in the equity markets," said James Forese, Head of Global Equities at Citigroup.

The Boston Stock Exchange, in conjunction with the Securities and Exchange Commission, will be responsible for regulatory oversight of the BeX market. The BSE regulatory services will report to an independent board of directors completely separate from the BeX Board.

"As a current floor member, we look forward to participating in a new era of trading at the Boston Stock Exchange," said Whit Conary, Exchange Board member and Senior Vice President of Moors & Cabot, Inc. "I am confident that the senior management and Board of Governors will continue to uphold the traits that have historically made the BSE a good place to do business: customer service, superior value and proven technology."

The BeX services will be deployed in a series of phases over the next 12 to 15 months with the first phase expected to be completed in early 2006.

About Boston Stock Exchange

Founded in 1834 as the third oldest exchange in the U.S., the Boston Stock Exchange (BSE) has, from its beginnings, played a vital role as a leading regional exchange within the strongest capital market system in the world. Today, the BSE offers exceptional market quality, specialized trading services, innovative technology and outstanding customer service to broker-dealers, investment institutions and listed public companies.

About Atos-Euronext Market Solutions

Atos Euronext Market Solutions (AEMS) delivers focused IT solutions for exchange, clearing and capital market customers via its worldwide market infrastructure. Over 1,200 employees in London, Paris, Brussels and Chicago are responsible for customer implementation and global managed services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. AEMS is a 50/50 joint venture between Euronext, the pan-European exchange, and Atos Origin, the global IT Services company. Merging the IT divisions of Euronext with Atos Origin's market related businesses has created AEMS - now one of the strongest global players in IT solutions and services for the financial markets.

About Citigroup, Inc.

Citigroup (NYSE: C), the leading global financial services company has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com

About Credit Suisse First Boston 

Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is the trade name for the investment banking business of Credit Suisse and its subsidiaries and affiliates. CSFB is a leading global investment bank serving institutional, corporate, government and individual clients. Its businesses include securities underwriting, sales and trading, investment banking, private equity, financial advisory services, investment research, venture capital, correspondent brokerage services and asset management. CSFB operates in 69 locations in 33 countries across five continents. CSFB is a division of the Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group, a leading global financial services company.

About Fidelity Brokerage Company

Fidelity Brokerage Company, a part of Fidelity Investments, provides a broad range of retail and institutional brokerage services. With 15.5 million client accounts and total client assets under administration of $1.3 trillion, Fidelity Brokerage Company executes over 244,000 daily average commissionable trades on behalf of its individual investor, correspondent broker-dealer, registered investment advisor and other institutional clients, as of June 30, 2005. National Financial Markets Group, a division of National Financial Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, Fidelity Brokerage Services, Member NYSE, SIPC.

About Lava Trading Inc.

Headquartered in New York City, with offices in California, Connecticut and the United Kingdom, Lava Trading Inc. is an innovative technology firm that develops unique, high-performance trading solutions for the financial services industry. Lava products are created as true ASP solutions built to withstand maximum volumes in the most volatile conditions. As a cost effective and neutral provider, Lava's OTC, Listed and Foreign Exchange solutions are used by leading broker/dealers, including most of the top U.S. investment banks, as well as market makers, hedge funds and institutional investors. With its patented technology and capital markets expertise, Lava creates value-added trading solutions that combine speed, intelligence and reliability. Lava is a wholly owned, independent subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) and is a member of NASD/SIPC. For more information, visit www.lavatrading.com.

About Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers (ticker symbol: LEH), an innovator in global finance, serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients and high net worth individuals worldwide. Founded in 1850, Lehman Brothers maintains leadership positions in equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, investment banking, private investment management, asset management and private equity. The Firm is headquartered in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Tokyo and operates in a network of offices around the world. For further information about Lehman Brothers' services, products and recruitment opportunities, visit our Web site at www.lehman.com.